Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Every Year around this time, kids put together their ultimate wish list of everything they want for Christmas. Those lists can include everything from a time machine to a hairbrush, but one thing is always the same: kids implore Santa to bring them the toys of their dreams on Christmas Eve.

Today, I'm sharing with you my Christmas list and my sister's Christmas wish list, in case you need some ideas.

My Sister's:

To Santa from Lenathis christmas I want theAmerican girl doll Grace with 2Accessories. A paint set.Stuffed animal. Animal headphones. P.S. with the American girl doll accessories I want the slow cookerand a pair of boots and a sweater for her and glasses.And I want one of those gymnasticswedge things So there's the list of what Lena is asking Santa for this Christmas. Now for my list:

For years, I was opposed to using a planner. My thoughts were, "I have a brain, that's where I can keep all my assignments."

But the problem with that was that I would forget things. So for my 8th grade year, I decided I would use a planner.

I bought a small planner at Target for under 5 dollars. I found some cute smiley face binder clips and some Paper Mate pens for 2 dollars and set out to be organized.

I decided to color code my planner based upon the type of thing I was writing.

I wrote homework in orange, due dates in purple, dance in green, and tests in blue.
Every day I have been writing in my planner, using my pens, and i have to say that, while the system isn't foolproof, it has definitely helped me with my organizational skills, especially at a time when we are having some much more homework and assignments!

I also have begun using a different one-inch binder for each of my four core classes, and this little step has helped me tremendously. I am so pleased that I have really become a more organized, dependable person this 2015-2016 year.

However, I did have to build a mousetrap car recently that made me want to scream. But yeah... organization. More on the car later.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

I love to read adult self-help books that don't apply to me in any way. So recently I read Gretchen Rubin's "The Happiness Project" and I was interested by her list of "Secrets of Adulthood" (I would definitely recommend this book, by the way). The list can be found in her book. It contains things from the down-to-earth basics to happiness-inducing habits.

I decided that I could come up with a list of my Secrets of Kid-Hood, mimicking Rubin's technique. Here it is folks, the Secrets of Kid-Hood!!!

It's ok to say no

Pack your backpack the night before

Do what you want, not what your friends want

Before buying clothes, think about whether you'd actually wear it, not whether you could wear it or might wear it

Find a hobby

Get used to school, because it's not going anywhere

Don't forget to be a kid

Before you do something questionable ask yourself, "Would I be OK with my priest/rabbi/teacher/grandmother seeing me do this?"

If you don't want to go somewhere but you know you really should, suck it up and go anyways because it might be fun. Or it won't. But at least you'll know.

Use a planner

Don't fake being sick, instead, ask if you can leave school a bit early or not come back after an appointment. Your parents will appreciate your honesty.

Go with the flow

Don't get too caught up in things being "perfect"

Have fun with your "cool" friends, but don't blow off your other friends

You only live once, so enjoy it and don't be stupid

Do well in school, and if you can't do that then do okay. And if you can't do that then study

Focus on the now

Be nice to your siblings

If you have to doze off, daydream during language arts, not math

It's okay to ask questions

It's not the end of the world if you do bad on a test

Take risks, but don't be stupid

You are amazing

How you look doesn't define you

Middle school is awkward, it can only go up from here

Be assertive. If you want something from your parents (or anyone), ask!

Tell people how you feel

You'll never know if you don't try

You're only a kid once, don't waste your opportunity

You are You

Here is a picture of the list. To print it out, download it and print!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

If you ask me, yes, yes, yes. Speaking as a middle school student, I say yes. I know it's easy to say no. There are a bajillion reasons that you can make to say why homework is good. It teaches time management, It's what "school" is meant to be, it has benefits for later in life... The list goes on and on.

But I think there's an even bigger list of reasons why homework should be reduced (although these may be wrong, this is what I think).

When you do work in class, you can ask the teacher your questions as they come up. Because if I have to wait until the next day, I forget and I mean I really forget.

Young kids especially learn much more from being outside, with their friends, or engaging in creative activities than by doing work in class.

School gets out so late anyways (my school ends at 4:05) and kids have so many subjects that homework is often a source of stress instead of an opportunity to learn.

Back to the stress topic, I know kids that stay up until midnight nearly every night trying to keep up with their work, which causes you to focus less in school the next day, because you get less sleep than you need.

When kids get a bad night's sleep, they have problems focusing on tests, which defeats the purpose of homework. Isn't homework to prepare you for tests? If you ask me, losing sleep over your homework diminishes your ability to concentrate on tests.

Not to mention that carrying backpacks loaded with binders and notebooks can have an effect on your posture and overall health.

So, is it clear that homework is bad? No. But I think that homework in more moderation would definitely benefit today's youth. It would give us more time to engage in creative passions, develop friendships, and other positive things. Now bye... gotta do my homework!

Sunday, November 1, 2015

I've always been a fan of making my own costume- last year I was an owl (I cut and sewed hundreds of felt feathers onto a big t-shirt). Halloween is also a very fun holiday for me- I love to dress up.

So in the middle of September, I was looking online for Halloween costume inspiration. I knew I wanted to make my costume- and not be a witch, my costume for three years prior- but I didn't know what, exactly, I wanted to be.

I was in the car driving to a restaurant, when I found the costume I wanted. A gumball machine. I saved the image, and about a month later, I turned up at Hobby Lobby with a mission. Here is how to make a Gumball Machine costume of your own- plus tricks I wish I'd known before I started.

Supplies:

Hot glue gun

Pom-Poms (I would say, if you're my size or larger, 2 bags of every color you plan to use, plus one mixed bag for accent colors)

Tank top (get one size larger than the size you actually wear. More on that below)

Red fabric or red skirt

Grey felt square

Knee-High socks (optional)

Headband (optional)

The first thing I did was pick a plain white tank top from my closet. As mentioned above, I wouldn't recommend this. When I glued the pom-poms on my tank top, all of its stretch was lost, and I literally could not get it over my head. I had to cut the back and sew elastic back there, so yeah, trust me on this one- get a size, or even two, bigger.

What I had to do to the back of my shirt to get it to fit!!!!

Then, I bought pom-poms at Hobby Lobby (of course, they are also sold at pretty much every craft store) and began to glue them on.

These are the colors I bought: red, orange, yellow, light green, blue, and pink. I also bought a mixed bag. The pom-poms are a little less than an inch in diameter.

I started gluing on the pom-poms with my hot glue gun like so.

After I was completely done with the top, I made a simple red skirt. You could, of course, also buy a red skirt, I just couldn't find one in my size at the store.

I used my grey felt and drew with Sharpie the picture above. You could also use fabric marker or make the whole thing out of paper, but I used grey felt and sewed three sides on my skirt.

One mistake I did make with the skirt, though, is that the felt was too high up to see, so I would recommend putting it lower than I did, or making the top shorter (or both).

The completed gumball top and my socks.

Finally, I bought some grey knee-high socks at Hobby Lobby to represent the pole of the machine (and to keep me warmer), and made a gumball headband.

That is me by the way. Also, I think you'll recognize the yarn "S" in the background, which I made in an earlier post (it can be found here.)

I just glued pom-poms on a thin headband and wore it around my head. It really added a great extra touch but only took a few extra minutes to make.

The completed top.

I hope everyone had a very happy Halloween, and enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know what you think of it in the comments.